Student Grievances in the School of Education

September, 2005

Any student who feels that he or she has been treated unfairly by a faculty or staff member has the right to complain about the treatment and to receive a prompt hearing of the grievance, following these grievance procedures.  The complaint may concern course grades, classroom treatment, program admission, or other issues.

To insure a prompt and fair hearing of any complaint, and to protect both the rights of the student and the person at whom the complaint is addressed, the procedures below are used in the School of Education.

The person whom the complaint is directed against must be an employee of the School of Education.  Any student or potential student may use these procedures unless the complaint is covered by other campus rules or contracts.

The following steps are available within the School of Education when a student has a grievance:

1. The student should first talk with the person against whom the grievance is directed.  Most issues can be settled at this level.If the complaint is directed against a teaching assistant, and the student is not satisfied, the next step would be to talk to the TA’s supervisor, who is usually the course professor.  If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, the student may continue to step 2.
2. If the complaint does not involve an academic department, the procedure outlined in Step 4 below should be followed.  If the complaint involves an academic department, the student should contact the chair of the department.  The chair will attempt to resolve the problem informally.  If this cannot be done to the student’s satisfaction, the student may submit the grievance to the chair in writing.  This must be done within 60 calendar days of the alleged unfair treatment. 
3. On receipt of a written complaint, the chair will refer the matter to a departmental committee, which will obtain a written response from the person at whom the complaint is directed.  This response shall be shared with the person filing the grievance.  The chair will provide a timely written decision to the student on the action taken by the committee. 
4. If either party is not satisfied with the decision of the department, he or she has five working days from receipt of the decision to contact the Dean’s Office (at the number below), indicating the intention to appeal.   If the complaint does not involve an academic department in the School, the student must contact the Dean’s Office within 60 calendar days of the alleged unfair treatment. 
5. In either case, there will be an attempt to resolve the issue informally by the Associate Dean.  If this cannot be done, the complaint can be filed in writing with the Dean’s Office.  This must be done within 10 working days of the time the appealing party was notified that informal resolution was unsuccessful.
6. On receipt of such a written complaint, the Associate Dean will convene a subcommittee of the School’s Equity & Diversity Committee.  This subcommittee may ask for additional information from the parties involved and may hold a hearing at which both parties will be asked to speak separately.  The subcommittee will then make a written recommendation to the Dean of the School of Education who will render a decision.  Unless a longer time is negotiated, this written decision shall be made within 20 working days from the date when the grievance was filed with the Dean’s Office.

Questions about these procedures can be directed to

Associate Dean Mariamne Whatley,

314 Lathrop Hall

262-2463

whatley@education.wisc.edu

State law contains additional provisions regarding discrimination and harassment.  Wisconsin Statutes 36.12 reads, in part:

“No student may be denied admission to, participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility of the system or its institutions or center because of the student’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status.”

In addition, UW-System prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression.

Students have the right to file discrimination and harassment complaints with the Equity & Diversity Resource Center, 179A Bascom Hall, 263-2378, Wisconsin Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1

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